Today we’ll be tackling a spiritual heavyweight of a topic. One of the most frequently asked of all my FAQs… *drumroll please*

‘What beauty products can I use to get rid of my stretch marks/eye bags/general zombified demeanour during/after pregnancy?’ (AKA What can I buy as a gift for my pregnant or new Mum?)

Heaven knows why anyone would want my opinion on beauty picks, seeing as my leading look for AW17 is a heady hybrid of ‘effing knackered’ and ‘dragged through a hedge backwards’ but here we go..!

[[Aside: I’m not going into the fundamentals here because they’re kinda boring and I’m completely with you on preferring to throw a bit of cash at the situation, but a good start is to drink lots of (preferably filtered) water, eat lots of (ideally organic) fruit and veggies, get plenty of sleep (ha) and do as much of the yogas and meditations as Father Time and your little person will allow. Anyhoo…]]

Boots Botanics All Bright Refreshing Eye Roll On

This formula contains Hibiscus to give a skin-brightening dose of radiance to any sad puffiness under tired eyes. The metal roller ball feels deliciously cool and I genuinely think shadowy areas look as lightened and tightened as I could reasonably expect from a little tube of gel. The label suggests using twice daily and I did try it straight from the fridge a few times, (bliss) but in real life it lives in my car cup-holder and gets pulled out when I pull up at work, my Mum’s house or any other place where looking like a functional human being is a prerequisite.

This miracle product found fame amongst the yoga Mums when I recommended it for the early beginnings of some stretch marks. The next week they were better, the week after they’d vanished. (Yep, her bump was still getting bigger). Obviously, the idea of a cure-all for stretchies is ridiculous and I don’t find them offensive (nor do I think they’re ‘battle scars of Motherhood’ because I can’t see them as that important or defining a feature…) but this bar is so deeply moisturizing and nourishing it’s probably as close as we can get. Plus it’s free of all the nasties found in a lot of alternatives. Much of the leg-work is done by a blend of cocoa and shea butter, and there’s organic lavender oil to chill you out, and wild orange and neroli to lift the mood.

The lady in the shop also told me it’s gentle enough to apply to baby’s skin, although I’ve never felt the need to use it on my own little dude. This is why the bar features 3 notches and a nobble; apparently 3 out of 4 babies have ‘in-y’ bellybuttons, and 1 has an ‘out-y’. It can go soft or liquefy in warm weather, but – let’s face it – that’s not something we need to worry about around here. At £6.75 I balked a little bit when I first purchased it (hey, big spender), but it gets the job done.

Another Lush hit, this bathbomb is kind enough for baby’s over 6 months so you can multi-task getting a relaxing, yum-smelling bath whilst bossing the tiny one’s bedtime (or two’s, or three’s, etc. if you’re a Mum of many). At least I presumed I was supposed to be in the bath too…

Bubbles, blue-ness and lavender – it’s soothing for irritated skin and spirits alike. Pretty good valu
for a Lush product at £1.95. It’ll even do 2 baths if you’re feeling frugal.

3 months after giving birth my hair was still a wild, untamable mane. I thought I’d escaped the fabled post-partum fall-out. I was wrong. Just shy of four months, the downfall began. And not just the extra stuff that supposedly grows during pregnancy, which is what Google said to expect. As much as I hate the word ‘clumps’, it best describes how I was losing it.

I was FREAKING OUT.

My hairdresser recommended a sea kelp formula but I couldn’t find one that was safe to use whilst breastfeeding so I chickened out and picked this up. It’s pink and vegan and – more importantly – works. First my nails started growing faster and stronger, then the hair situation started to pick up. £19.99 will get you a month’s supply.

We’re all told how vitally important it is to take prenatal vitamins but the commonest mass-marketed
formulas gave me the heebies. They either weren’t ethically made, weren’t plant-based or used folic acid rather than folate*. After many hours of research, I found a company called Terranova, who take their supplements seriously and the ingredients are natural and top quality.
I didn’t stick unconditionally to the two-a-day dosing schedule as I was confident my plant-heavy diet provided all the nutrients me and bubs needed. However, taking them put my mind at ease during busier spells at work, and also made me feel better when my midwives reached the ‘vitamin’ box on their tick list. The capsules didn’t aggrevate my nausea and I feel like they contributed to my high energy levels and general sense of wellbeing. I continued to take the remaining capsules post-natally as they’re safe for use whilst breastfeeding
and think they’re a great boost for those looking to prepare their bodies to conceive in the near future.

Do let me know how you find any of the above and remember, if you feel like you’re having a completely bleurgh day, people are probably way too busy looking at your cute little bump or bundle to even notice.
I know when I see other newbie Mums I’m usually too blown away by how beautifully they wear Motherhood to see the exhaustion.

Lots of love, as always,

Sal x

* Folic acid is a synthetic form of vitamin B9 also known as pteroylmonoglutamic acid. It isn’t metabolized to the acive form of B9 in the same way as natural folate, so has the potential to build up in its unmetabolised form. Studies have even found in otherwise fasted people. This excess has been associated with certain health problems and there’s speculation about the correlation between folic acid intake and childhood cancers. Whilst folic acid is cheap to manufacture and stable in mass-produced foods and has undoubtedly reduced rates of neonatal neural deficits, we’re perhaps a little too accepting of its presence in our food supply. It’s always worth doing your own research into what you’re personally comfortable with.

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